The Review

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Monday, May 31, 2010

The Hawks notched a 2-1 victory Monday over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2 at the United Center in a game that was edgy but hardly as frenetic as the scoring bonanza in Game 1.

Marian Hossa broke an eight-game goalless streak, Ben Eager scored 28 seconds after that and Antti Niemi made 32 saves under tremendous duress from the Flyers late in the going to stake the Hawks a 2-0 series lead.

My father, Samuel Earl Pierce Sr. was born September 27, 1946. His mother was initially going to name him after her father, Earl, but her mother had a better idea. My great-grandmother suggested giving him the name Samuel, the name of one of her eight other children.

My dad, a Vietnam Veteran, was named for his late Uncle Sam.

Sam Hoff Enlisted in the Army in 1942 and was killed in action at some point during World War II. He was single and had no children of his own to carry on his name. I am glad my great-grandmother thought to suggest his name to my grandmother so that my father and by extension, me, could to some small degree honor his sacrifice.

(Chicago, Illinois) – Last week Marine Sgt. Denis Kisseloff was laid to rest after succumbing to injuries he suffered on May 14 when his unit was attacked by terrorist insurgents in Afghanistan. Tonight, on Memorial Day, thanks to an anonymous donor identified by Operation Homefront-Illinois in concert with Operation Homefront-Missouri, Sgt. Kisseloff’s two young children, both huge hockey fans, will be treated to attending Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the United Center in Chicago.

Sgt. Kisseloff, a graduate of York High School in Elmhurst, and his family resided in St. Charles County, Missouri. His wife passed away approximately two years ago and Sgt. Kisseloff’s children had been staying with their grandparents.

“We were honored to provide Sgt. Kisseloff’s children with perhaps a little bit of joy during this very difficult time,” said Dan Proft, Chapter President for Operation Homefront-Illinois. “It is a heartbreaking story. But it is also a searing reminder of the sacrifices made by our military men and women and of the needs we, as a nation, have a moral responsibility to meet for our soldiers and their families.”

From the White House website blog, we read how Barack Obama's planned speech at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery southwest of Chicago was scrubbed during a Memorial Day downpour ...Also, check out more here .

"Good afternoon everybody. Everybody excuse me. Everybody listen up. Excuse me. Everybody listen up. We are a little bit concerned about lightening. This may not be safe. So I know that all of you are here to commemorate the fallen and that’s why we’re here. What we’d like to do is, if possible, have people move back to their cars, and if this passes in the next 15-20 minutes, I will stick around and we’ll come up and start up the ceremony again. But we don’t want to endanger anyone, particularly children in the audience. So I’d ask everybody to very calmly, move back to your cars. I’m going to move back to mine. We will wait to make sure that the thunder has passed. A little bit of rain doesn’t hurt anybody but we don’t want anybody being struck by lightning. God bless you everybody. We will be staying here and will make an announcement shortly. Thank you."

Obama took shelter and the crowd did the same, trudging through a blinding downpour in make-shift ponchos and wind-breakers utterly overwhelmed by the deluge. Many in the crowd huddled under small rectangular canopies or near large trees, despite the lightning risk.

Obama's motorcade waited briefly, then started to leave the cemetery. It stopped alongside several buses parked on the side of a cemetery road, drenched and disconsolate attendees inside. Obama hopped aboard, chatted briefly and exited to applause. The president held at the cemetery's administration building for more than 30 minutes deciding to cancel the speech and return to Washington, D.C.

His name was Harry Arthur, and he lived in Bloomington. He dropped out of school after graduating 8th grade, determined to go make a living without a degree. He started out on the family farm working long days as many boys did at the time, and he had his eye on a young lady from Congerville who grabbed his attention. It all seemed like the perfect life, but that would suddenly change one fateful day – the day the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A few years later, Harry’s life would exit the soft path as he left his family and picked up a rifle in the Army Air Corps. He would train as a recon car commander, though that was a cover. His real job remains a secret to those who knew him.

The Chicago Tribune's editorial yesterday expressed the frustration and disgust we at Illinois Review share with the Tribune about the Democrat-dictated failed General Assembly. We, too, resolve to focus during the next 22 weeks on electing fresh, energetic and determined potential state lawmakers who are willing to turn this state upside down. Thank goodness, there are lots of candidates that fill that description chomping at the bit to assume legislative seats that have been worn and beaten down to dishonor.

As the Chicago Tribune writes:

It is with that conviction that this page looks beyond another inconclusive legislative session to focus primarily on the general election just 22 weeks away. The people of this state need solutions to three crises that have Illinois in a downward spiral. We believe Illinois is worth fighting for. We hope voters share that belief, and react less with hot anger than with cold resolve:

I live to remember. I have not forgotten that America is still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan, that our finest citizens have volunteered to put themselves in harm's way in the name of freedom. The media overall have done a grave disservice to our warriors and their families, who have been asked to sacrifice so much. The war is now barely covered by the media.

Maybe so-called journalists have forgotten. The media have moved on.

Not me. I have chosen to dig in and never forget. Not a day goes by that I am not reminded, often painfully, that America is at war. The cards, letters, pictures and e-mails I receive on a daily basis from America's finest and their families embolden me to be a better American, to be even more appreciative of the freedoms, liberties and opportunities provided me and you with the blood of warriors. These brave American warriors and the warriors who have gone before them humble me to my core. There are no words to express my appreciation for their bravery, commitment and sacrifice. The same goes for their families, who are left behind to soldier on while their loved ones go off to war. God bless them all.

UPDATE: Note the strikeout - we
were notified this morning that the Senate Republican caucus and the Illinois Republican Party have, in fact, assisted Crenshaw in her race.

GOP candidate for State Senate Cedra Crenshaw is "just one mom" going against the Democrats' political machine in Will County, but statewide as well. The Dems challenged her qualifying petition signatures last Friday at the Will County Board of Elections, and the decision will be made this week.

Mrs. Crenshaw's efforts to challenge incumbent State Senator Arthur Wilhemi (D-Joliet) were facilitated by Will County Tea Party supporters and ignored by the Senate Republican caucus and (see below), for the most part, the ILGOP. Mrs. Crenshaw advocates the staunchest Republican principles and does it with energy and focus -- as "just one mom" fighting for her kids' future.

She's a qualified accountant, a local school activist, a transparency advocate, a bridge to the GOP-ignored black community and most important, she's met the state's petition signature requirements to get on the ballot. Democrat nitpicking and refusal to spend more money on what they assumed would be a safe seat should not be reason to deny district voters a chance to have a competitive race in the 43rd Senate district.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

I was commissioned as an Ensign in the US Navy Reserve in 1989. I have now served 21 years. For the last 10 years, as a Member of Congress, I served without pay because I love the Navy, her duty, honor, country. In uniform, I served during conflicts with Afghanistan, Iraq, Haiti and Bosnia. I am proud of my service – it is the honor of my life to work with Americans who keep America safe.

Last week, I found that I misidentified a military award and corrected my biography. According to the Washington Post, their reporter worked with Alexi Giannoulias' campaign to write a story that turned out to be imprecise about the title of an award included in that biography.

The error was discovered last week by my staff. Going through my Fitness Reports for 1999/2000, we recognized that referring to an award as “Intelligence Officer of the Year” was not precise – so we corrected my biography with the official name of a very distinguished award that I am honored to have received.

Illinois Secretary of State Candidate Robert Enriquez depicted the present Secretary of state as a “CEO out of touch” with his daily operations. Hundreds of thousands of rusty plates on Illinois highways and streets are just one example. Many of these plates are graying around the numbers; others are outright rusting making the identity of vehicles a public security concern.

“Every day we see disastrous blunders compounded by inept governmental entities costing taxpayers billions of dollars,” said Enriquez, “most are avoidable with solid, ‘hands-on’ leadership practices.”

As importantly, “it is a major gaff when a Canadian firm becomes a source of Illinois License Plates. Why is our state trying to convince other manufacturers to stay here when we do not make all our plates in Illinois? They won’t divulge how many the Secretary of State had made in Canada, nor what they cost taxpayers,” said Enriquez, “this Secretary of State demonstrates he does not have a handle on what’s important to his constituency; to tax payers, manufacturers or to unemployed Illinois workers.”

The Daily Kos questions today whether or not Illinois GOP's U.S. Senate candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk may have been caught exaggerating or at best misstating his Naval Reserve service, similar to Connecticut's Democratic U.S. Senate challenger Richard Blumenthal. Blumenthal, currently Connecticut's attorney general, has been accused of misleading voters to believe he served in Vietnam, but instead was found to have served stateside only.

From our perspective, it's the Daily Kos liberals desperately looking for a way to put the emerging Republican Kirk on the defense and get him off message. After all, for the past several weeks, Kirk's Democratic opponent State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias has been bobbing and weaving and his poll numbers are sagging.

But there's no doubt Kirk's military bio has evolved over the years. A University of Chicago website Mark Kirk bio given prior to an April 2006 speech refers to Kirk as "the only member of Congress to serve during Operation Iraqi Freedom" and that the U.S. Navy named him "Intelligence Officer of the Year in 1999":

Allow me to begin by clarifying that it is hard to imagine that there could be a worse candidate for U.S. Senate than current Treasurer of the broke state of Illinois and failed mob banker Alexis Giannoulias. Allow me, kind party-above-principle apparatus, to clarify that honest assessment of the candidate with the magical "R" behind his name does not equate to an endorsement of Giannoulias!

It is a shame that the state of the electoral process is such that the preceding statements would seem necessary. Of course, it may be fitting given the shameful state those in power have created for our state and our nation. There is a perpetual vermin infestation problem in the capitols of our state and our nation. Lucky us! We in Illinois get to choose between part of the problem and part of the problem in November's contest to fill the seat once used as a stepping stone by one Barack Hussein Obama.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Kirk campaign responds to media reports about Kirk's military service in a letter entitled "Desperate"

We knew Alexi Giannoulias was desperate.We just didn’t know he was this desperate.

It would appear that Alexi Giannoulias provided a poorly researched story to the Washington Post to distort Congressman Mark Kirk's military service.

Mark Kirk served in Operation Allied Force and was decorated for that service. You can read his Navy and Marine Corps Commendation official citation and his Officer Fitness Reports detailing that distinguished service to our country.

Mark Kirk’s military service should not be denigrated by a failed mob banker whose reckless lending practices cost the FDIC $394 million when they closed his family bank and also cost Illinois families tens of millions in losses from the state’s college savings fund.

Would you be satisfied if your only access to a computer was to try to boot up one that hadn't been used or tested since 1992? That's the predicament of our nuclear deterrent on which we depend for our ultimate physical survival.

On April 8 in Prague, President Obama signed what is called the New START bilateral arms control agreement. It reads like it was written by the Russians and has nothing good in it for the United States.

Obama is demanding a rush to ratification, after which we can then discover the details of what the treaty requires. Does that remind you of the procedure used for Obamacare?

Four days before Memorial Day and after ignoring requests from the top military brass and a host of veteran groups, Sixteen U.S. Senators on the Senate Armed Service Committee and 234 Members of the House of Representatives decided furthering a radical political agenda was more important than honoring the wishes and sacrifices of our troops.

To add insult to injury the Senate Committee also added a provision that would allow for taxpayer funding of abortions on military bases. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said of the vote, "Passing this amendment... respects the timeline of the Defense Department study."

Governor Pat Quinn says he'll begin using the authority state lawmakers bestowed upon him this past week to begin making harsh cuts to balance the state's $10 billion-in-the-red budget. House Speaker Mike Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton chose rather than to lead their Democratic majority caucuses in proposing a shrunken budget that would match the state's smaller recession revenue, they'd rather let the governor take the heat and let him make the tough cuts.

So Quinn, who still wants a state income tax increase that neither Madigan nor Cullerton can deliver, told Chicago Public Radio he's got the budget axe in hand and he's going start chopping where it hurts the most -- at state lawmakers' salaries.

Friday, impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich lost an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the start of his trial June 3rd. And through FOIA requests, WGN TV got a copy of his mug shot taken December 9, 2008 when he was arrested at his Chicago home.

Blagojevich is facing federal charges of trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, and leveraging the powers of his office to enrich himself and a close ring of associates. He has attempted to subpoena Barack Obama as a witness, and the overseeing judge has left the door open for Obama testimony.

The charges include racketeering, attempted extortion, bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit extortion -- in other words, the Chicago Way.

If anything like Blagojevich's impeachment proceedings in January 2009, trial followers are likely to witness first hand slick trial attorneys' tactics of using emotion, doubts, half-truths, silence and drama to get their clients off. Stay tuned ...

Friday, May 28, 2010

Friday, attorneys from the Thomas More Society filed an appeal in an effort to vacate the stay Judge Daniel Riley imposed on the implementation of the Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act, arguing that there is no legal basis to further delay the law.

"The Illinois Parental Notice of Abortion Act has held up numerous times against attacks by the ACLU and other opponents, and we believe there is no legal reason to prevent implementation of this long-overdue and much- needed law in Illinois," said Peter Breen, Thomas More Society executive director and legal counsel. "It is time to enforce this law and put an end to secret abortions in Illinois."

If you thought Roland Burris was a harmless lame duck filling Barack Obama's old U.S. Senate seat until next January, you were mistaken. Burris has taken advantage of his lack of accountability to try and overturn a longstanding military policy that would cause U.S. taxpayers to pay for military abortions -- both overseas and in the states. Thursday, Burris' amendment striking the current restriction on military abortions passed out of U.S. Senate Armed Service Committee in a 15 to 12 vote.

If Burris' amendment becomes law, all military medical facilities will be required to provide unrestricted abortions, including for the purposes of sex selection as well as anytime in the pregnancy, from conception to baby's birth.

The White House admits today that Chicago native Rahm Emanuel -- President Obama's chief of staff -- was involved in the offer made to Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak. But Emanuel didn't directly make an offer Sestak eventually refused, he had former President Bill Clinton offer the deal.

Anyway, there's nothing for us to be concerned about. The White House has investigated itself and found nothing wrong...

Think the Obama Administration isn't excited about the House's passage of DADT? Here's how Obama's political action network Organizing for America writes to supporters today ... For OforA, it's only a matter of time before the military will be required to accept any sexual orientation a soldier claims.

Friend --

This is big news: Yesterday, the full House of Representatives and the Armed Services Committee in the Senate voted to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

In his State of the Union address, President Obama pledged to end the law that denies gays and lesbians the right to serve their country. Now, we are closer than ever to making good on that promise.

Republican Chris Christie (R-NJ) shocked the political world by winning the New Jersey gubernatorial race last fall. He is a man who does not mince words, and has no problem cutting budgets, reducing taxes, and standing up to the entrenched union and bureaucratic powers that have dominated New Jersey for decades.

Jeffrey L. Junkas (R-Tinley Park), Republican candidate for State Representative in the 37th District, was joined Wednesday night by WLS-AM political commentator Dan Proft and dozens of supporters to provide military families school supplies via a donation to Operation Homefront.

“I am grateful for the generosity of my event sponsors and supporters that helped make this donation to benefit school children of military families possible,” said Jeffrey Junkas, Republican candidate for State Representative, 37th District. “As I did with my fundraiser last year that helped Toys for Tots, I continue my commitment to having a charitable component to my campaign fundraising.”

UPDATE 12:54 PM: Mr. Kinzinger just called Illinois Review to object to the way his answer below was presented.

"I have made it very clear that I'm opposed to the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' but I do find it amazing that Congress voted on the issue before the Pentagon's report has been published," he said via phone. "You write that there's confusion about the working group's purpose, but Robert Gates has stated they are looking at how lifting the ban would effect military morale. I think that report could be key to the direction Congress should take."

Adam believes last night’s House vote was pre-mature and that Congress should hold off on any action until the Pentagon Working Group issues its report later this year.

The Pentagon Working Group Kinzinger refers to consists of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen staffers, who established the working group following a Feb. 2 hearing on Capitol Hill as a way to examine how to implement an end to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” should Congress repeal the law. The work is expected to be completed Dec. 1.

“No”, “Non-vote” -- That's how Democrat state reps Keith Farnham and Jack Franks “voted” on the forensic audit resolution they sponsored. In spite of their supercilious backing of the resolution, Farnham voted against it and Franks “went to the bathroom”. Michael Madigan and Illinois Democrats voted down a measure that would have meant accountability in Illinois' spending and would have gone a long way to preventing Governor Quinn’s proposed 33% tax hike.

Prior to voting down HR 1057, the Illinois General Assembly passed a forensic audit of Medicaid, which represents $13 billion in state spending. The bill passed both legislative chambers without any opposition (House, 113-00, Senate 59-00). According to the New York Times and the FBI 10% of state Medicaid spending is fraud. Based on this estimate, Illinois taxpayers will save $1.3 billion thanks to the audit.

Unanimous passage of the Medicaid audit confirms two things 1) an audit is sound policy, and 2) the political will to audit doctors, hospitals and the poor for fraud certainly exists.

If it’s a good idea to audit 25% of state spending, why not audit the remaining 75%?

McCormick Place union workers are waking up to a rude realization this morning that their Democratic friends aren't as friendly as they thought they were. Governor Quinn's weak veto of overhauling McCormick Place's work rules and restructuring of its management system was overwhelmingly ignored and overridden within days of Quinn's rejection.

The House quickly joined the Senate in voting overwhelmingly to reject Quinn's amendatory veto, putting into place a law that aims to halt the exodus of trade shows that object to high costs in Chicago. The House vote of 93-19 followed a Senate vote of 51-2, with one lawmaker casting a present vote.

SPRINGFIELD– Moments after Illinois legislators voted to borrow over $4 billion to fuel for more government spending, State Representative Careen Gordon voted against a critical reform measure, the Illinois Forensic Audit Act, which would have required a line-by-line review of how each taxpayer dollar is spent.

The Illinois Forensic Audit Act, HR 1057, would have authorized the Illinois Auditor General to conduct a comprehensive review of state spending and state contracts to identify areas of waste, fraud and mismanagement. However, Democrats, including Representative Gordon, objected to the measure and refused to allow the bill to come before the House for a vote.

Sue Rezin (R-Morris), the Republican nominee for the 75rd District seat, reacted to the blatantly political maneuver and its impact on Illinois’ glaring lack of reform and accountability.

Gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady is calling for an investigation into Governor Pat Quinn’s acceptance of $75,000 in campaign cash from the Teamsters Union just before his amendatory veto on McCormick Place that would have benefited the union.

“It’s appears to be another shameful example of pay-to-play politics,” Brady said. “The people of Illinois deserve a thorough investigation.” Brady will ask Attorney General Lisa Madigan to begin the investigation.

“The citizens of Illinois are suffering the effects of the pay-to-politics that were the hallmark of the Blagojevich-Quinn Administration. We cannot allow another incident to go unchecked,” Brady said. “The corruption has cost Illinois taxpayers too much.“

Illinois budgets is $13 billion in debt, unemployment is at 26-year high, the state ranks 46th in job creation and state spending continues to rise. “On top of all that, citizens have lost faith in their government,” Brady said.

On Thursday, the General Assembly rejected Quinn’s changes to the McCormick Place reform legislation – saving 66,000 jobs in the state’s convention and tourism industry.

Straight out of TV's Intervention series, Senate Republicans ended their role of enablers last night in Springfield. Bravo for stepping in to break the Democrats' spending addiction. The rest of us are right behind you. Don't waver.

It's laughable this morning that Senate Majority President John Cullerton is blaming Senate Republicans for the blocked pension deal. Even though he's got a super-majority of Democrats in his Senate caucus, two of his own members won't support Quinn's $3.7 billion pension borrowing plan and one other was absent. That tells you there's trouble among Democrats, a good sign for the rest of us.

Cullerton, House Speaker Mike Madigan and Governor Pat Quinn --Illinois' leading Democrats -- don't care that borrowing today to pay another $3.7 billion in pension payments will force our children to pay for our generation's wild spending spree, so often referred to as "generational theft." They're not even focused on the two uncooperative Democrats that refused to go along with their plan. Instead, Cullerton and his buddies are blaming Senate Republicans and one key member of that caucus -- State Senator Bill Brady. That's typical of addicts -- they blame those that won't let their behavior continue.

Call me cynical if you must, but when I observed the following over the last 48 hours, I had to think that the specter of the fall elections, which come to think of it is exactly the correct word to use (think “Arlen”), may be haunting the White House:

To show his willingness to compromise in the hope of achieving “comprehensive immigration reform,” code for amnesty-for-democrat voters, he sends 1200 troops to the Arizona border, one for every 1.6 miles. Take that, you whining tea baggers!

Under the watchful eye of White House Climate czar Carol Browner (who originally developed the legal theory of using the 1970 Clean Air Act as a global warming law, bypassing Congress) the EPA is moving forward on a staggering regulatory power grab that includes about 18,000 pages of appendices and will eventually regulate nearly every aspect of the U.S. economy.

The EPA is out to regulate cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, planes, trains, ships, boats, tractors, mining equipment, RVs, lawn mowers, fork lifts… you get the idea. And there is no control technology for greenhouse gases, so the EPA would require complete redesigns and operational changes.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Today, Governor Pat Quinn vetoed Senate Bill 28, the McPier reform
legislation that was born out of months-long bipartisan negotiations by
key stakeholders and top legislative leaders.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton and Senate Republican Leader
Christine Radogno helped to craft the agreed reforms in Senate Bill 28.
As leaders of their caucuses, both worked diligently to earn bipartisan
passage of the legislation earlier this month.

Numerous associations, organizations and industries have long complained
of the high surcharges and bureaucratic guidelines that have reduced
the attractiveness of hosting conventions and trade shows at McCormick
Place.

Chicago Public Radio is reporting today that even though the Governor's plan to borrow $3.7 billion to pay this year's state employee pension payment passed the House this week, it isn't a done deal in the Senate. It may take a couple of Republican deserters to join the Democrats to get it passed -- but in a Senate that has a Democratic super-majority?

Illinois Senators today are scheduled to debate borrowing nearly $4 billion. That money would go toward the state's troubled pension system. The plan has already been approved in the House, but Democratic Senator James Clayborne says it's not a slam dunk in the Senate.

As Alexi Giannoulias remains silent on SEIU’s pledge to support his Senate campaign, Rod Blagojevich isn’t his only problem. SEIU is also closely associated with ACORN – a group whose members were charged with voter registration fraud in Wisconsin earlier this year.

EVANSTON, IL--In January, 9th CD Republican candidate Joel Pollak broke the story of Rep. Jan Schakowsky's mysterious attempt to bail out ShoreBank using Illinois taxpayers' money. This week, Joel uncovered major new evidence that suggests Rep. Schakowsky has a conflict of interest in the ShoreBank affair.

Watch Joel TODAY (Thursday) on FOX Business Network's Happy Hour (4-5 p.m. Chicago time) as he discusses his major new find, what it reveals about government corruption, and how the ShoreBank bailout threatens our economy.

Governor Pat Quinn rejected a plan to rework union rules and make Chicago's publicly-owned McCormick Place competitive once again among America's major convention centers Wednesday. Earlier in the week some suggested he was ready to sign the overhaul which would allow convention participants to set up and break down their own displays -- undercutting local union members.

Senate Bill 28 also designed the top job at McCormick Place for House Speaker Mike Madigan's pick, and Quinn wants the pick to be his, not Madigan's. So, is Quinn's desire to have that appointment power worth picking a personal scuffle with the all-powerful House Speaker and Democratic State Party Chairman Mike Madigan? Is Quinn so confident he'll win re-election in November that he doesn't need the party chairman's enthusiastic support?

Half a try, half a try, Half an effort onward.Those in the Valley of Debts Sent the twelve hundred."Forward the Slight Brigade!""Take up your pens," he said.Into the Valley of DesksRode the twelve hundred.

“Forward the Slight Brigade!”As at President he played.And every soldier knew Someone had blunder’d.Theirs not to defend and fight,Theirs not to address our plight,Theirs but to type and write.Into the Valley of Desks Rode the twelve hundred.

Breached fence to the right of them,Hidden tunnel to the left of them,River in front of them,Which challenge? Which target?Boldly they’d serve, and well, Gladly brave shot and shell,Proudly right into Hell…But into the Valley of DesksRode the twelve hundred.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

CHICAGO—Cook County Democrat Chairman Joe Berrios released a statement today praising his own efforts in pushing through a bill that will expand video gambling. In the mean time, Cook County property taxpayers continue to see no results on property tax reform.

“Instead of lobbying for legislation that will give Cook County residents and small businesses an honest, affordable and understandable property tax system, Joe Berrios is bragging about his success as a lobbyist for the gambling industry. While property tax owners continue to struggle, Commissioner Berrios seems more interested in working as a lobbyist than as a taxpayer advocate,” said Cook County Republican Party Chairman Lee Roupas.

SB 4927 ended up having nothing to do with nursing home vaccinations, despite what the bill's title indicates. By the time it was voted on today on the Illinois House floor it was all about making video poker gambling even more available.

When last year's video poker legalization bill passed, it was for restaurants that served liquor. That wasn't what the Coin Operators and the gambling profiteers wanted at all. What they really wanted was what they got today -- Illinois will be host to video poker machines in VFW halls, taverns and truck stops, too.

If you want to know how your lawmaker voted on the 81-26-5 vote, check the bi-partisan list of support and opposition HERE. Kudos to all 26 that took the moral high ground on this vote.

Moving day is almost here for Perry, Wheaton College's restored mastodon skeleton.

The creature's 13,500-year-old fossil remains will be carefully loaded onto a flatbed truck Thursday and taken across campus from its home in Armerding Hall to a perch in the new Science Center.

The public is invited to come out and watch the 16-foot-long, 9-foot-tall mastodon's journey to its new digs between 1 and 2:30 p.m. A party will be held after Perry's processional in the plaza west of the Todd M. Beamer Center, 421 Chase St.